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Nintendo:
This was clearly the year of the Nintendo come back after several previous lackluster E3 presentations. There were no vitality sensors, no fashion runway games for DS, and no Wii Music. What we did get started with a bang when Shigeru Miyamoto himself came out on stage to debut the new Zelda Wii title, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Using motion plus technology, Miyamoto demonstrated the possibilities of sword and shield play as well as several new items at Link’s disposal. The two most unique items would have to have been the beetle launcher, which sent a controllable beetle flying off of Link’s arm to collect far off items, and the whip, capable of cutting grass and grabbing items. As if a new Zelda wasn’t enough, we also got Mario Sports Mix, Epic Mickey, Golden Sun Dark Dawn for DS, a new Wii Kirby, and more footage of Metroid Other M. It was clear that Nintendo intended to deliver to its core demographic today and they did just that. Big surprises were also in store with a Goldeneye remake exclusive for Wii starring all previous Bonds, as well as a new retro remake of Donkey Kong Country.

Nintendo’s biggest gun this E3 was the much anticipated 3DS unveil, and it did not disappoint. Although, we in the audience were unable to get a sense of the much touted “No glasses” 3D tech, we did get an understanding of the handheld’s power with a glimpse at the surprise announcement, Kid Icarus. Other 3DS features included two front facing cameras for taking 3D photos, 3D effect adjustment dial, an analog stick, and the ability to play 3D movies on the device. Nintendo’s E3 2010 press conference was very impressive, and I’m sure hardcore Nintendo fans worldwide are quite satisfied.

Sony:
Although the surprises were in few this year, the Sony conference managed to consistently deliver exciting new prospects for the future with their lineup. They kicked things off with a special look at two Killzone 3 levels, presented in 3D to the audience which was met with hollering and cheering as Sev leaped to the air in a jet pack. The visuals were fantastic, and the game really conveyed the potential for Sony’s 3D tech. We also got news of several titles that will include 3D in the future such as Gran Turismo 5, Mortal Kombat, EyePet and more. Shifting from 3D to the Playstation Move, we were treated to a premiere demo of Sorcery. Sorcery uses the Move controller to guide a young apprentice through a castle as he battles goblins by flicking the Move to send spells from his wand. The 1:1 tracking of the Move was impressive as the wizard’s arm accurately reflected what the player was doing; it also demonstrated different movements to achieve varying abilities. We were also treated to a demo of Tiger Woods 2011, also used impressive tracking to register the player’s movement as he would swing the club.

After a surprise, and hilarious, appearance by Kevin Butler, Sony shifted the conference to the games. Although it was pleasant to see Little Big Planet 2 demonstrated for the audience, the biggest announcement came in the form of Portal 2 for Playstation 3. However, I personally was the most excited when the grand finale of today’s event turned out to be the unveiling of Twisted Metal for Playstation 3. Typically, we only get these kind of unveils in the form of a teaser, or small clip, but after driving out onto the stage in a replica Sweet Tooth truck, we were treated to a live demo of the game’s multiplayer modes.

These two conferences have left me quite excited for the year to come in gaming, and I’ll be sure to write deeper impressions in the days to come as I get to try out all the great games shown today in person on the show floor!

A newly published Apple patent hints at the company’s plans for including improved Facebook integration into the iPhone at the device level.

The document, discovered by Patently Apple, was approved until April 1st, 2010 and filed in September 2008 and focuses on creating device-to-device workflows.

Apple has essentially patented the ability to sync actions between two or more devices. This could be something as simple as adding a to-do on your Mac’s calendar application and having it automatically sent to the iPhone.

The patent also includes provisions in the patent for device proximity. For instance, an iPhone and iMac set to synchronize a schedule could be activated by Bluetooth connections on both devices that will automatically initiate a calendar synchronization once the devices are within a certain range of each other.

The Facebook element of the patent comes into play with contact syncing. For example, say you meet a colleague or friend out somewhere and realize you haven’t friended her or him on Facebook. When you initiate an “add contact” on your phone, it can first pull in all the vCard information from your friend’s phone, send your info back (if you are exchanging information), offer to take a photo of your friend to add to your address book and then, if you so choose, add your friend to Facebook.

Your friend will then get a notification on her device of the pending friend request and can then approve or ignore it.

There are some third-party solutions available for the iPhone (like Bump) and for Android and BlackBerry devices that can do similar things, but having a scripting workflow engine built into the device itself is a unique idea unto itself.

Per MobileCrunch, AT&T has begun modifying some customers’ upgrade dates, shortening them in some cases by months to allow customers to buy a new, subsidized, fourth-generation handset in June.

This week, a reader contacted MobileCrunch to say that his upgrade date was moved from Nov. 21st, 2010, to June 21st, 2010. The reader said they bought an iPhone 3GS in 2009 on the device’s launch day.

“As a valued AT&T customer, we can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at a higher price, along with a 2-year commitment and an US$18 upgrade fee,” the customer’s account profile reads. “Please proceed with the online upgrade process for pricing details. You may qualify for a full discount on a standard iPhone upgrade on 6/21/2010.”

The same changes have appeared for some other customers as well. AT&T has revealed in the past that generally speaking, the more a customer spends with AT&T, the quicker they become eligible for a price break on a new device. For example, iPhone customers who spend more than US$99-a-month per line are generally eligible for an upgrade between 12 and 18 months into their contract.

The revised dates will likely pave the way for AT&T to offer some customers reduced prices on Apple’s fourth-gen iPhone, expected to be announced in June. AT&T also took the same approach last year when the wireless carrier offered early iPhone 3G adopters the opportunity to purchase an iPhone 3GS as the same US$199 and US$299 price points as new customers.

In years past, Apple has introduced its annual iPhone upgrade at the Worldwide Developers Conference. This year, WWDC 2010 will be held June 7th through June 11th at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Tickets for the event sold out just eight days after Apple announced the dates.

Another rumor has suggested Apple could sell the next-generation iPhone as soon as it is announced on June 7th. That approach would be a change from years prior, when a new handset was announced a few weeks before its sale date. AT&T has also blacked out the month of June for its employees, preventing them from taking vacation days.

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Delivering its second quarter financial results on Tuesday, Apple announced that the company sold 10.89 million iPods during the quarter (compared to sales of 11.01 million iPods in the year-ago quarter, and down 48% from the previous quarter) and 8.75 million iPhones in the quarter (a 131% increase year-over-year, and up from 8.7 million units in the prior quarter).

Per iLounge, Apple posted revenue of US$13.5 billion and net quarterly profit of US$3.07 billion, or US$3.33 per diluted share, compared with revenue of US$9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of US$1.62 billion, or US$1.79 per diluted share in Q2 2009.

International sales accounted for 58% of the quarter’s revenue and sales of Other Music Related Products + Services were up 27% from the year-ago quarter, and 14% from Q1 2010, to US$1.3 billion total.

Notably, the numbers from Q2 2009 are different from those originally reported due to Apple’s change in accounting rules that sees the company now recognize “substantially all of the revenue and product costs from the sales of iPhone and Apple TV at the time of sale,” instead of accounting for the sales over a 24-month period.

“We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49% and profits up 90%,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”

“Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about US$13.0 billion to $13.4 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about US$2.28 to US$2.39,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.

Following up on a slew of recent software updates, Apple released Security Update 2010-003 on Wednesday. The update, which varies in size between 6.2 and 208 megabytes depending on the version used and fixes assorted security holes described here.

The update, as usual, can be located, snagged and installed Mac OS X’s Software Update feature.

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The Associated Press, one of the world’s largest news wire services, will be building an iPad app in a move that counters the primarily ad-only model for news on the Web.

According to the Financial Times, AP’s iPad plans were unveiled along with the creation of a new business unit called AP Gateway, which will be devoted to helping the wire service’s member newspapers keep abreast of new technologies ranging from e-readers to mobile phones.

The AP hopes to assist its member newspapers with rolling out electronic editions of their publications without each paper having to develop its own digital strategy in Web access and mobile apps, something that many papers lack the resources and expertise to do on their own.

The move to create paid subscription access to wire service news follows a business model pioneered by specialized newspapers such as the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, which both provide premium access to news to their paying subscribers both on the web and via native iPhone apps.

Reuters and the New York Times are also both planning to roll out paid access to their Web properties over the next year.

Speaking at the Colorado Press Association’s annual meeting, AP’s chief executive Tom Curley said that, “For publishers, [2010] likely is the defining moment. We must seize this opportunity to reinvigorate our business models as well as our journalism.”

Curley said the AP was convinced by three years of anthropological research that its publishers must differentiate their content, and not add to “information overload.”

If the hard drive on your older MacBook Pro was starting to go south, Apple may have something for you.

Per CNET, Apple is now offering the MacBook Repair Extension Program for hard-drive issues on machines purchased roughly between May 2006 and December 2007. Customers experiencing hard-drive issues should take their machines to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Reseller to have it diagnosed.

The primary sign of hard drive troubles on your MacBook is the flashing question mark when starting up. Should your machine fall into the eligible model range, you will be given a replacement drive, free of charge.

Apple has published a knowledge base article relating to the program and listed the following models as affected units:

If you’ve already paid for an out-of-warranty repair, Apple also offered the following:

“Some customers may have paid for out-of-warranty repairs that qualify under this program. Apple will contact affected customers (where contact information is available) with details on the reimbursement process. If you believe that you paid for a repair covered by this program and you have not been contacted, you may contact Apple Technical Support.

This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the MacBook but covers affected MacBook models for 3 years from their original date of purchase or until August 15th, 2010, whichever provides longer coverage. Apple will continue to evaluate the repair data and will provide further repair extensions if needed.”

As always, hurl in your two cents and let’s see how Apple handles this.